Angels Awaken
by ImpVarjack61
Summary: Angels Awaken is a POV story as told by Yoseph, a man who immigrates to Arendelle in his youth to settle down and raise a family. When the freeze destroys his life, he conspires with some like minded villagers to end the Queens reign. Little does he know the path he's chosen leads him to a destination he didn't expect.
1. Chapter 1 The Coup

1 The Coup

It was bound to happen, a story like this one is just too big not to tell. While I'm not a great story teller someone has to do it. It may as well be me.

Most of you are familiar with the story of how two little princesses were locked away from the world very suddenly, then ten years later when the King and Queen went to a family wedding they were lost at sea.

It was a very trying time for Arendelle as there was no leadership here. How this place escaped overthrow or war I do not know.

Then it all went straight to Hell.

On coronation day the Queens magical powers were exposed and I as a spectator to the event at the fountain, have to tell you it scared the bejesus out of us. Her blasting open the door then firing an icy weapon at the Duke and his men. No wonder they locked her away. The King was trying to protect us from that monster. Then she just runs away, leaving that silly little girl Anna in charge for ten minutes before it was her fiancees turn, a complete stranger she met hours ago.

And then the summer disappeared. Heavy snow and large, sharp pointed icicles hung from our rooftops.

It was Armageddon. It was the Apocalypse. It was Revelations. But where was God?, this isn't how it was supposed to end. Thousands of people, doomed to freeze to death, while handing over an entire kingdom to whoever showed up after the thaw.

As I mulled over those thoughts, it dawned on me what Elsa truly is, she _is_ a monster. She is the most powerful sorceress the world has ever seen, or may ever be.

A few days later my wife Laila stepped out of the doorway of our own home to get some wood that Prince Hans was giving out when it happened. A large icicle dropped from the roof piercing her in the shoulder and went straight into her heart, killing her instantly.

Will they tell her story? Will this be part of the fairy tale? Doubtful. She wasn't a princess, but she was my queen. And I swear I'll see Elsa die before these eyes.

The "Queen" of course sent her apologies and compensated us for our "loss", but I'll spend every gram of that gold to put Elsa in her grave.

Maybe I should just lighten up for a second, and start at the beginning.

I settled down here after years of wandering on the seas. A shipyard hand by trade, I figured I'd open up a shop, settle down and raise a family. Then I met Laila, a native of here whose father had an empty building at the docks. It was a rough go for a while, but Arendelle has been a peaceful Kingdom and there is plenty of business.

Then there's my two boys, Liev and Bjarne, who are growing up into fine adults. I just hate the idea of them maturing in the shadow of that witch, what future do they posibly have here? What future do I have? My biggest connection with Arendelle was Laila. With her gone why should I stay?

A few weeks later someone strange came to the shop. Olaf showed up to acquire some rigging hardware for a small boat that Kristoff was building for Princess Anna. I could barely focus on what the little guy was saying as I stood in amazement at the fact that he was real. This was a living being, and not created by God, but by someone living in a castle only a stones throw from here. No sorceress has ever had the power of life and death like this one, and she instills great fear among a large portion of Arendelles population, including me.

She is the most powerful weapon ever created, just think about that for a second. She could go to whatever Kingdom she wanted, freeze the place over, wait for everyone to die and then thaw the place out, just in time to plant new crops and create a new frontier for Arendelles citizens. I've heard tales about the monster that lives in the ice palace she created on the North Mountain, she could make hundreds of those satanic creations and overrun kingdom after kingdom, raining death and destruction wherever she went.

The good news is, I'm not alone in these thoughts.

I get enough people flowing thru to keep up on all the towns gossip. I have the only boat shop in town and since the only way in or out of Arendelle is by sea I stay fairly busy, well most of the time anyways. When the freeze came I damn near went broke.

Someone in town decided to have a secret meeting and thankfully I got wind of it just in time. Ingulf the barber and his wife have a cellar below their shop and set up a meeting in the middle of the night to discuss plans of Queen Elsa's demise. There was plenty of anger, but not much else. Prince Hans tried to kill her and look how that turned out. I hear he's now shoveling horse dung out of the royal stables in the Southern Isles.

Now that guy was a true Hero, he knew what had to be done and almost reached his goal, he would've been a fine king. Although I was never too keen on what he did to Anna.

Where was I? Oh yes, the level of distraction was high down here, people making too much noise for a secret meeting, if the Queen got wind of this we could all end up as icy statues parked at the front gates as a reminder to those who may challenge the Queen.

"What we need to find is a weakness." I finally blurted out, and a sudden silence filled the room. "So you have all the answers then?" Said Kari, one of the saltier local fishermen. "No, but it sure beats all this bickering." We needed a solid plan, and this group wasn't capable that. Who could we turn to?

That weasel of Wesleton, the Duke, had also tried to do Elsa in, and failed. He's lucky she didn't string him up. But Elsa had shown him mercy, and hit him where it mattered most, his wallet. maybe this was the ally we were looking for. If he thought there could be some profit in it, it could be a revenge most sweet.

"We need to contact to Duke of Wesleton."

"Are you mocking us, Yoseph?" Replied Ingulf. "What can he do for our cause?"

"Well, he has a score to settle, and Weselton has a large Navy."

"What you're suggesting is a war" Dag said. I really didn't look at it that way, but it looks like that is what it's coming to.

"Yes, but we need to keep the fighting away from Arendelle."

Then it dawned on me, the thought seemed like genius. "What we need to do is build a ship, a war ship". There was a burst of laughter, but I didn't get it.

"Um, there's the issue of Arendelles banks being drained by all the ships Elsa destroyed with her little stunt". Said Freyr."Where would we build it? There's only the one tiny dry dock, there's no shipyard here." Then I said, "That's where Elsa comes in, she will be financing her own demise, and the dry dock is perfect for what I have in mind."

This could be the "in" we need.

"Let's build a hybrid ship, one that has a heart of wood, but covered in Elsa's magical ice, her involvement in the project may expose a weakness we could exploit."

They weren't laughing this time, the plan now seemed so much more plausible.

"But what good is one ship against an armada?"

"That's the point, Freyr, we convince Elsa the ship is indestructible with her magic, then we pull the rug out from underneath her and send her to Davy Jones Locker." The wheels in my head were spinning wildly now. "It'll look like she was killed in battle, it'll make her a martyr and she'll be gone, its' a win-win." And our plot to destroy her will stay covered up. If only it could be that easy.


	2. Chapter 2 The Pickup

2 The Pickup

Provisioning a boat and leaving in the middle of the night are a dangerous thing at best. Death at the worst. There are many rocky outcroppings around Arendelle and only a few know them all. People are also well accounted for. When a boat and several of Arendelles citizens go missing for an extended period of time there ends up being a lot of talk.

So I decided the late nite mission was a bad idea and made up an excuse. The retrofitting of the numerous damaged ships around the fjord would need a fresh set of supplies from Montrie and three of our best sailors, Eirik, Asmund, and Ulf set off. The message we sent was signed by all the group members to get the Duke on board to our plan. But before they left I had one more idea that I really wanted to share only between us four.

"Here, take this gold and..." just then a rather large bug buzzed my ear and I swatted it. It hit the bulkhead with a thud. "Damn bugs!, as I was saying, take this gold, hire some goons on Aukulan, and spring Hans Westergaard loose from the Southern Isles."

"Aukulan, you mean the den of pirates?" Said Eirik. "Yes, you will need some muscle, plus they may come in handy around the Duke."

"This is a fools errand, Yoseph."

"That much is certain, But I trust you get it done. Good luck and may the Hand of God be with you."

"Same to you, Yoseph." And with that I got off the Serenity. As I watched her sail away I hoped it wasn't for the last time. All of us in the group could loose everything if this plan didn't pan out.

My job however was to meet with the Queen and present my proposal for the battleship. I'd start with how her magic had put fear into a lot of the citizenry and the fact that a lot of foreign dignitaries had witnessed her power first hand, and that was sure to bring the savage hordes to our doorstep. She owed me this one small favor.

That reminded me of when I first seen them close the gates so many years ago, I wondered what they were up to, and what they were trying to hide. Locking those children away, and apparently from each other seemed especially cruel. And now it seems brilliant, as it kept Arendelle safe from those who would attack out of fear or try to possess the power she had as their own. Maybe my own fear is misplaced, I don't know. But Arendelle is in great danger, and if the Queen is blind to that out of her own ignorance, well, somebody has got to step up... And I guess it's just my time.

Our meeting was at two and went pretty much as I figured it would. She thought it was preposterous and that I was some kind of nut-job that should be locked away.

"Why hasn't someone attacked Arendelle already? Three years without a monarchy seems like it should be rife for an attack."

My only response was, "Luck,... and now your Highness it's running out along with time. If we are going to do something it needs to be now, and we'll sort the details out later." I seem to remember some other plans that were rushed around here that didn't work out so well, but I wasn't about to tell the Queen that.

"Your Highness," I continued, "with your abilities and knowledge of geometry and science, I feel you would have a lot to contribute to this project. That's why I only came to you with this somewhat flimsy proposal." I was hoping her ego might be puffed up a bit, and her eyes made her easy to read. It was working.

"Give me two days to come up with some ideas of my own, I will draw out some plans for this vessel based on my abilities. Then we can work out the details and financing."

"Thank you, your Highness." It was starting to come together. But I have to wonder why she didn't question the fact she has to be on board this vessel, considering what happened to her parents.


	3. Chapter 3 Elsa's Proposal

3 Elsa's Proposal

Three days passed and I was summoned to the Queens study, soon I'd be here more than home.

"Here is my idea, Yoseph." As she spun the plans around I could hardly believe my eyes. Not only were the plans eloquently drawn out with great detail, but the scope of what she was proposing was mind boggling.

She had drawn out what appeared to be an ugly shoe box that was covered in very flowing lines. It was sharp and pointy, with what looked like two flugelhorns curving out the back. There were two stations on the quarter deck and the pilots wheel was on the starboard side of the deck while the narrow ends of the horns were on the port.

The single stubby mast was on a giant pivot that nested into a pocket in the keel. It was a gaff cutter rig with twin jibs that looked too small for a ship this size. At this time I felt I needed some answers.

"So, your Highness, what are these horn shaped things?"

"Mass thrusters."

She may as well been speaking in Swahili. "Say again?"

"When Anna and I were little, I used to push us around on the ice by creating a blast of snow off my hands. I also used it recently to push on one of the Dukes goons. These horns will amplify the effect. I put my hands in...

I trailed off for a second and tuned her out, this was my chance. When she put her hands in there she would be vulnerable. I could install some type of restraints in the horn openings secretly. She went on.

...and out the back at high velocity.

"What kind of speed are we talking about?"

"Thirty five knots, give or take a few." OH MY GOD! I could hardly contain myself. I damn near soiled myself. The fastest ships of the line could do maybe fourteen knots in a blow, the record was around twenty two, this thing could run circles around any battleship out there. The tactical advantage would be enormous.

"What is this Foam ice?"

"The ice will be infused with a gas I create while the ice is forming. This will make it lighter than wood. Plus the gas bubbles will compress when forming around the wood, in other words it will not crush the timbers."

"How on earth do you propose we steer this beast?"

"The wheel is connected by a more robust chain and sprocket system, it also uses snow muscle."

"Pardon my ignorance once again your majesty, but what is snow muscle?"

"You've seen Olaf, have you not?"

"Yes, your Highness."

"He moves much like a person, the snow itself is his muscles, I merely add those same elements to these arms on the rudder and there you have it, power navigation. Control is sensed thru these tubes here."

I really didn't know what to think at this point, other than the fact I was dealing with some kind of super genius. I had heard the Queen was smart, but this is beyond the pale.

"OK, what about this mast pivot?"

"When ready for battle, the mast folds down when running on the thrusters, vastly improving it's maneuverability, I can also throttle the horns from side to side to tighten the turning radius."

Whatever craft faced this thing would be doomed, this technology simply doesn't exist. It'll be a slaughter. But what about armament? I'm only seeing six cannon ports per side. when asked about that, she talked about a new battle strategy called "Raking Fire", that meant shooting at the enemies stern. Normally, this was very hard to pull off, but with this kind of speed it would be easy to get into such a position.

As a man of the sea and ships, this was the project of a lifetime. No one in history has experienced anything like this. I felt honored to be a part of it, even if I scuttled it on it's first tour of duty.

The other intriguing part of this design was the fact that if all the magical elements were stripped away, the ship could still sail. This says a lot about the Queen. She was considering the possibility of her own demise and made it just as an important as the other design elements. I really hope I'm making the right decision here.


	4. Chapter 4 Construction

Elsa had managed to scrape together some credit and our first delivery of timbers came into the tiny dry dock at the edge of town. Arendelle was not a ship building community, that was "Weasletowns" job. But we did have carpenters aplenty and the design of the ship was based on the talent we had. It was all flat sided and angular. The rudder hung out on braces that looked like a mill work. As it started to take shape it was just laughable.

Many of the towns people sneered at its peculiar shape. All the diagonal bracing made it's skeleton look like we were building a Tudor house, which by the way most of the men building it were skilled at. It would be cramped and hard to move around inside, but we weren't building a cruise ship. One of the bunks had been closed off for the Queen, a problem most battleships don't have to contend with.

Building it here with our available tools and talent was part of the Queens plan all along. While all I could think about was how I'd install my deathtrap. But it was good to take on something like I had done in my younger days. I had given up that life to settle down. That's what your supposed to do, right? Not gallivant around the world. Hiring yourself out in shipyards only to pack up your one bag of worldly possessions and set sail to the next adventure. How I missed those days, now all those memories are trudged up once again.

The Queen and I spent quite a bit of time together over the next month working on the plans and the ship with the occasional disagreement. But she knew my knowledge of ships was superior to hers, even if she was brilliant. What the ship would turn out to be was other worldly, and the ship was finally given it's name;

Gudbrandr, Gods Sword.

I liked it, but I found the Queen to not be much of a religious person. Which made me wonder why she picked this name? Considering the fact that she probably had a pact with the Devil himself. Soon enough I'd be sending that Monster back to him.

The Queen had one more trip to take to procure some sails, and some other fittings which will take her away from the castle. While it was somewhat strange to have the top monarch take on these procurement missions, it was necessary as no one in Arendelle had enough pull for this level of debt. Plus the fact that she could just whip up a few snow monsters if she got into a jam. It wouldn't hurt my feelings if she was taken out, it would just make my job easier.

And now it's time to add my own special touches to the ship that would end her and her reign.


	5. Chapter 5 The Bishop

5 The Bishop

My faith had been shaken to it's core. I always believed in what the Bible told us, sat in a pew every Sunday with the rest of Arendelles citizens, and prayed to the Lord Almighty for his blessings. Then the Devil Incarnate shows up next door.

Is this a test of faith, oh Lord? I needed answers and we only have one source, the Bishop. He has an open door policy on Thursdays and I ducked out of the dry dock to have a word with him.

"Ah, Yoseph, sit down. It's been a while since we chatted last, what concerns you?"

"Well, your Holiness, it's about...the Queen."

"Yeesss, I've been getting a lot of that lately". Guess I wasn't the first person to bring this subject up.

"Soooo, what is your query?" His tone dripped with sarcasm, I assume he has tired of this subject.

"I have found that having a sorceress with the power of life and death such as the Queens very disturbing, and her magical powers seem very God-like. In her panic, she killed my wife, and nearly killed us all. Should any living person on this earth have such great power without praising the Lord and doing his bidding?

"Did not Jesus walk on water? Did he not turn water into wine? What about Lazarous? Was he not raised from the dead?"

"But your talking about the Son of God, he was claiming to be Gods messenger."

"Yes, but Jesus was told that he was the Son of God, how would YOU react to being told that?" I really didn't have an answer, my faith was somewhat blind. I never questioned the Bible, so here's someone who reads it every day, and now a man of God is rocking my faith even further away. The way he said this made it sound as if Jesus wasn't the Son of God at all, just someone with magic powers who could do parlor tricks like the Queen.

"Well Jesus freaked out, that's what! Then he's told he'll eventually have to die at the hands of the very people he's trying to save. Don't you think Queen Elsa felt her life was being threatened? Again how would you react? And then look at what Anna did. She had a choice, she could taken the easy way out by kissing Kristoff, or sacrifice her own life to save her sister who brought her nothing but pain and suffering, and decided to save her sister, an act that saved us all. Does that not sound like what Jesus did for us?"

Why did he bring up Anna? I was referring to just the Queen.

"Look, the Bible and the story of Jesus happened a long time ago. I find it very refreshing that the Lord would bring us these events right here in Arendelle, in our time to remind us to be good to one another, that love is the the most powerful force on earth..."

"But what of Elsas magic, I..."

"To have faith in God IS to believe in magic, could he have created the universe and all things living in it without magic? He had six days to do all that encompasses you, would that not require magic much like Elsas?" He seemed exasperated, but wrapped up with this final statement.

"The truth is, we don't know what God has planned for any of us. It is up to us to follow his teachings and be righteous in his eyes. So far I've seen nothing here in Arendelle from the Queen that would make me think she's the product of the Devil. Yes, she freaked out, but with her sister now a part of her life she is calm and in control. Do not let bad things shake your faith, they are meant to strengthen it. Last and most important of all, Yoseph, the Righteous Path must be cleared."

Thank you for your time, your Holiness." And with that I walked out, just as confused as ever. The way he acted it was if he was a puppet on strings. He sure didn't seem like himself. I decided that I should look at these events from another angle, maybe God _was_ trying to tell us something that we've overlooked lately.


	6. Chapter 6 Anna's Awakening

6 Anna's Awakening

Over the next few days construction was moving along nicely and according to plan with one exception. Elsas rudder design called for a lot of sprockets and chains that were only available in faraway locals. So I figured I'd stroll over to the castle to give the Queen the bad news.

"Your Highness, we have to drop your plan for your steering system, it'll take too long to procure the parts."

"What's your rush, Yoseph, are you expecting some unwelcome company? Do what you have to do Yoseph to make it work, I trust your judgement. You will have to excuse me, however, as I have to do some traveling tonite."

I could feel the blood draining from my head, I had to find something to lean on. I was not an expert at this level of deception and I felt she was on to us. This plan was hanging on by a thread and I was starting to doubt it myself. Elsa was giving da Vinci a run for his money, and snuffing her out seemed like a real waste of talent. But that night it all fell apart, starting with a scream.

"There's a fire at the castle!, Wake UP! There's a fire at the castle!" The voice cried out as someone ran down the street. So I threw on some clothes and grabbed some buckets. By the time I got there the bucket brigade was already forming. It's a good thing the castle is built on the water, as the brigade got to the fire in short order. "What room is the fire in?" I heard someone shout and the answer sent a chill down my spine. "Princess Annas chamber." "Is she alright?!" another unknown voice queried. "Yes, but she's quite shaken."

The fire did some damage to Anna's personal belongings and some drapes, but her bed had been burned to ashes. So how did the fire start? A candle perhaps? Did the Princess take to smoking cigars before slumber? The answer was definitely not what I wanted to hear. After speaking to one of my spies on the inside it turns out that Anna had been dreaming about something happening to Kristoff and she awoke with the bed on fire.

Now there are two beasts among us.

Guess Anna turned out to be a bit of a late bloomer. From the story I got from one of my other castle sources, Elsa struck Anna with her powers in the head as a child, creating a white streak in her hair in the spot she got hit in. The King and Queen raced off into the nite with the children to meet up with the Troll King, Gran Pabbe.

When Gran Pabbe cured Anna one of the things he said was "I recommend removing _all_ magic, even memories of magic."

That must've been it, he kept Annas powers under wraps by suppressing them. Then when she came back to life on the fjord she was reborn. The white streak in her hair was gone, maybe that was a symbol of her rebirth, and any magical abilities she had could now come to the fore. She just didn't have any clue they were there.

Until now.

There was no way to keep this a secret. Too many witnesses this time. Oh, God have you completely forsaken us now?! The fact is I really like our Princess Anna. If our plans work out, she will be Queen. Now what do I do? I dread the idea of destroying her. If her powers cannot be mastered and reach Elsas astronomical levels, it could destroy us all.


	7. Chapter 7 Training Day

7 Training Day

The wind was nowhere to be found today, so our first sea trial would have to be put off. The Queen decided to take some time to go spend with Anna, who was relegated to the small house at the edge of town where she and Kristoff would spend time together when they weren't handling matters of the state.

The Queen had coated the cottage with ice in case Anna had another outburst like the other nite. Kristoff had sulked out into the woods with Sven, apparently quite depressed about Anna's new abilities, or maybe Anna sent him off, out of fear for his own safety. Either way, the sadness she felt was splashed on her face like a bucket of paint knocked off a scaffolding, their marriage certainly was in jeopardy.

I decided to do a little spy work of my own, and followed the Queen down to the cottage where she found Anna, sitting on the dock where they kept the boat that was Kristoffs wedding present to her. I hadn't seen it up close but do remember seeing it plod around the fjord with them being romantic and quite joyful.

Anna had a pile of small pebbles next to her that she was slowly plunking into the water when Elsa showed up. Elsa brushed the pile into the water and basically curled up next to Anna, with an embrace that made them look as one being, it was magical in it's own rite.

Both of them started sobbing at the same time as if they were linked. Could they really feel each others emotions directly? Were they some type of symbiotic creature? As I watched this unfold, it occurred to me that the Queens magic seemed cruel and harsh without Anna in her life, but festive and amusing in Anna's presence. These two needed each other, there could be some dire consequences if they ever got separated again.

Maybe this was the direction the Bishop was heading with his strange diatribe. However things turn out, magic and all, this was Gods plan, and the foreboding I've been feeling was a sign that I've been dead wrong about the Queen.

It was time to scrap The Plan. Queen Elsa was not the enemy here.

What a fool I've been, the fear that Elsa felt when she ran off, nearly destroyed Arendelle. Love saved it. And I nearly killed Elsa by the same fear! One should pay attention to ones own instincts. I felt the whole time planning this coup that something wasn't quite right, and here it is. The love that these two feel for each other is so strong that it snapped me out of my misguided fears, just by being in it's presence. Apparently Anna and Elsa have other magical powers besides fire and ice. I have to admit, this is the strangest feeling I've ever had. How could my mind have been changed so quickly?

Time passed and they both calmed down. Elsa picked Anna up and headed to a more secluded spot, "Come on, let's go do some exercises."

I wanted to see this first hand, even though my plans for finishing her were over. Elsa was saying something to the effect that Anna's magic and hers came from the same source, so it was logical to assume it would work the same way. The magic came from a blend of thought processes, emotion, and body control.

"It's like a dance, you have to feel it."

Dancing was something Anna understood, and I think the Queen knew this would be a good tool for the learning process. "Watch this, look at how I flow into this stomp." Elsa looked like an angel with her arm motions as she flowed into the move, creating a large snowflake on the ground. "See, now you try." Anna attempted the same motions but nothing happened.

"You must feel the flames in you, you must be part of it." Anna tried again, with a little bit more of her own form.

This time a fireball erupted violently from Anna's foot singeing the bottom of Anna's typical floor length skirt. "Ow-ow-ow" she cried as the flames lapped at her ankles. Luckily Elsa also makes a great fire extinguisher. After Elsa put out her skirt fire she gave Anna a playful blast of snow in her face.

"The last time you did that you gave me brain damage." Then they both let out a giggle.

It was really wonderful to see them this way, so much of their lives had been centered around pain and sadness. It was also good to know that Anna's magic would have some guidance, instead of just trying to hide it. That didn't work out so well the last time.

"I think we need some different attire." Elsa quipped, and whipped up something that looked like a navy sailor would wear. Whatever it was, it was not very effeminate. But they had the appearance of real warriors, almost like the Samari from the far east.

"There, that's better."

"I like it!" Anna seemed impressed by Elsa's fashion sense, thou she didn't share it, Anna was a much more modest dresser. Queen Elsa looked like she was wearing nite clothes most of the time. 'cept when we first meet face to face, then she was all business.

"Lets continue, shall we?"

At this juncture I decided it was time to leave, I had seen enough and did not want to run the risk of being exposed, considering the fact that The Plan had now been tossed to the scrap heap.

But I scrapped it. The Plan is already set in motion, we could be in real trouble. How am I going to get us out of this? What is the rest of the group going to think?

The warship is nearly done, there's no sense in backing out on it now, and the Duke or any number of nefarious kingdoms may be coming, we'll need it to defend ourselves. Will it be enough? Can Elsa deliver on her speed figure she theorized?

Well, it appears Anna could master her powers with a little work, and I was already making revisions to the ships plans in my head to incorporate Anna's powers to its offenses. We could get Gran Pabbe involved too, surely there's some discipline he could train Anna in. Especially since he screwed up her head in the first place. I think he kind of owed her. I was getting ahead of myself a little bit, would Anna really want to help us aboard the warship?

When I saw the Queen again, it was time to set out on the Gudbrandr.


	8. Chapter 8 Sea Trial

8 Sea Trail

It was finished, what an ugly sight. The whole thing was covered in pitch and it was time to see if the shoe box would float. It did. Elsa's ballast tanks worked perfectly to get the water line right, now it was time to hoist some sails out in the fjord and tune the rigging.

I knew that folding the mast would make keeping the rigging tuned nearly impossible. But this really wasn't a sail powered vessel. "Hoist the sails." I called out and the skeleton crew we had assembled got sheets to the wind for the first time.

It was a real pig. But it didn't matter, we were sailing in emergency mode. It's a great sensation to set sail to something that you've had a hand in, even if has all the performance of a fishing dory.

The rudder was a bit of a bear without Elsa's snow muscles attached. the lines that ran back to the rudder creaked under the strain. But oddly enough it had great reach, apparently Elsa's keel design kept the ship from slipping sideways, and this would be a useful feature should we have to make a run for it sans magic. I kept this up for the rest of the day, the sun was shining and I felt the presence of the divine. It was a success, and we finally moored her at twilight.

Tomorrow proved to be far, far more glorious.

What we would witness would be history. It's a funny thing being given a glimpse of the future. Now it's Elsas turn at her version of the construction, but the conversation we had before setting out would change my life forever.

"I want you to be the Captain of the Gudbrandr, and I'm promoting you to Admiral of Arendelles Navy." Said the Queen in a very stoic tone.

First off Arendelle didn't have a navy,...yet. And second of all this would put me near the top of the hierarchy here. I really had trouble formulating something to say, so I went with humility.

"Your Highness, surely you can find someone more qualified than..." Once again the Queen cut me off. She really didn't like wasting words, whether they came from her or someone else.

"Yes, I can Yoseph. but if you truly believe that this is divine providence I can not think of anyone more qualified."

She took a deep breath, it looked as though it was paining her to say the next thing. After she said it I realized why.

"And on the ship, you are in charge, and it's my job to serve you."

Wow, yea that must've hurt. I can't think of any instance where a monarch has relinquished their authority without abdicating the throne.

Looks like I've really stepped up over the last few months, I wonder if this is something I'll regret.

We had the Gudbrandr moored out in the middle of fjord in case things went amok. Elsa was standing on the poop deck when she went into her magical dance. Ice crackled and sizzling noise could be heard as the real ship took shape...

My God, it was a thing of absolute beauty. It was this light blue color that just sparkled all over. All the railings were very ornate and the forecastle had these circular rings that would've taken forever to carve in wood. This whole thing was done in minutes. It had the look of it wanting to take flight, and that's not far from the truth.

The next thing she did was a complete surprise and turned out to be quite entertaining, and reassuring.

"Fire Lieutenant!" just then one of our spare cannons fired straight at the ship. The ice it hit exploded into a shower of color in the sun. "What on Earth are you doing!?" I yelled at her without properly addressing her.

"Just watch". The ship started to heal itself, within a minute there was no evidence of any damage. This ship was alive, much like Olaf, or that monster on the North Mountain.

This truly is Gods Sword. Now for the fun part.

"Welcome aboard, Captain". I had kept my distance along with the crew just in case something bad happened and I'm glad I did considering the Queen had just lobbed a cannonball at it. My first command was to fold the mast, which was a fairly scary thing to do on the water. It came down like a giant hand was playing with a bath toy. Humans doing this would be grunting and groaning. Elsa then sealed the mast, sails, and rigging in a cocoon of ice, yet another thing of brilliant planning. That way we wouldn't be tripping all over it when in battle. We cast off the mooring and prepared to get under way, this was it.

"Ahead one eight power, First". Elsa leaned into her station and for the first time the Gudbrandr was under way on magic. "Lets keep this power level for a few minutes while I get a feel for her." There was something odd about that statement that made me wish I could suck the words back into my mouth. Even at this low speed, however, it was glorious. With the snow muscle, the wheel was very light. In dry dock the wheel required more effort. The sound coming from the thrusters was playing this strange chord. I think Elsa did this on purpose, it was like Gabriels Trumpet.

The folks who were watching this from shore stood in stunned amazement, jaws on the ground. "Alright, one quarter power, First." At this level we could out run or run down any ship on Earth, and on the Gudbrandr, it was like a Christmas sleigh ride. The ship was really starting to kick up a wake, and when we passed the harbor all the boats there were rocking like some rogue wave got into the fjord.

"Let's get her out on some open water." It was like I was a kid again.

"Half power."

When that happened the ship started to rock across the beam bringing a sudden wave of nausea. Something about the hull shape wasn't working.

"Shut 'er down." I said with some disappointment.

"You did not think that this would go perfectly the first time out, did you Yoseph?" Elsas intellect shined thru once again and she had foreseen some hiccups, and had some backup plans to suit them. The simple fact is, no one has done this before, and anyone who's designed anything knows you _never_ get it right the first time.

So she wiggled the ball of her foot on the deck and a few bubbles came up around the sides of the ship. This was a luxury few designers had, we were literally changing the hull shape on the fly.

"OK,...lets try this again, half power."

I do believe this is the closest thing that man has come next to flying. Sans cliff divers. Elsa had decided to just leave her hair down instead of her signature braid, it was flowing behind her in a straight line, she was really relishing this moment, the next would take our breath away.

We lined 'er up to head straight down the fjord, full throttle. We wanted to give them a show, and I didn't feel like straying out too far either waiting to be rescued or to be spied upon.

Confidence and stupidity go hand in hand, and we were in the zone.

"Ready first?"

"Yes Sir." It sounded so odd coming from the Queen.

"Combat speed!"

Here was yet another first for the human civilization, lateral acceleration. I almost couldn't hold the wheel. When we stop I'll have to have Elsa fix this. Another unforeseen event. When we got to full speed my eyes were watering profusely, I'm going to need some kind of protective eye wear. I wasn't crying , but I certainly felt like it. I've heard stories of these steam powered engines that run on steel rails make this kind of speed, so we weren't the first people to go this fast. Just nobody has done it on water.

Oh, the sound this thing makes, it's as if God himself is singing. I decided to look back to see what was going on behind us. A arcing wall of water seven meters high sprayed out, with a rather large rainbow in the mist. I looked at the wake that was headed for the harbor and saw a meter high wave. I also caught a glimse of Elsa grinnin' ear to ear. Small boats overturned and the bystanders at the railings were drenched. They certainly got more than they were bargaining for. By the time I turned around I realized I was running out of fjord.

"All Stop!" and just like that, a burst of echo off the cliff walls, then silence. We bobbed up and down in the churning water we created, then we all started hootin'.

That nite it was time to celebrate. The Gudbrandr was finished, was a success, and was the fastest ship man has ever seen. I tied one on and got myself three sheets to the wind.

Lord, it was a good day.


	9. Chapter 9 Strategy

9 Strategy

I could feel that time was running short and we had to figure out our battle plan. This particular aspect had not occurred to me in the past as I was mostly interested in seeing the Queen dead. Now I was her servant. Elsa had been reading up on naval warfare and it was done according to a simple set of rules.

Basically the ships when readying to take on an enemy would turn to port or starboard depending on the wind.

Then the combatants would sail parallel to each other and lob cannonballs at each other. Till enough of them either sank or ran away. They were in for a surprise.

It was another late evening in the study. The Queen was having some doubts.

"I don't know, Yoseph, I sometimes think there s a better way to do this. Like just freeze their ships or the water."

"Your Majesty, we need shock and awe. The Gudbrandr is the fastest ship ever built. We should use it to it's full potential. There are some other issues as well. For instance, say you make a storm that will blown the ships back, will that remove their resolve? If you freeze the ocean, will they not just walk off the ships? We want to send them a message, and that message is Gods Sword will smite the unjust."

"I thought you just wanted to protect Arendelle, Yoseph. Are you sure your motives are clear here?"

"Your Highness, I feel there is a divine architect at work here. My faith has guided me here, to this ship, to Arendelle,...and to you."

The next thing I'd say would be a point of contention for a few days.

"I think it's time to fold the Princess into our plans, and scuttle the plan for cannons."

"What?!, Anna is no where near ready for battle, she's only been training for a few days."

"Permission to speak freely, your Highness?"

"Granted."

"When you built your "Castle" on the North Mountain, how many days did you train for that?"

"That was a different set of..." I cut her off. I really didn't want to do this but...

"None, your majesty. the answer is none. Anna is developing her powers quickly, it seems. I've seen her practice. Gran Pabbe has been helping her. The role I have in mind takes much less skill than yours, she can do this, I'm sure."

"We should ask her personally first." She said with something of a sneer. While the Queen didn't mind people disagreeing with her, she didn't like my snappy tone.

Too bad, Anna needed to do this. Once again my instincts were kicking in, and I hated to ignore them.

After the Queen asked Kai to round up Anna, we spend the time discussing my new strategy. It involved weaving between the ships in a zig-zag pattern thru them in the line.

We would point ourselves at the bow of the first ship. come along their side while Anna lights up their sails. when we got to their backsides, The Queen would pull her hand out of the inside thruster and fire back at the stern with slugs of ice. The Queen was fine with this idea, and felt we needed to practice it. I agreed. Just then Anna entered the study. "You wanted to see me for something?" She was eating an apple, the juice was running down her chin.

"Anna, it has been suggested that you become a member aboard the Gudbrandr as it's gunnery officer."

"Awesome, count me in!" Ah, such childish enthusiasm. Let's see if you still have that spunk in Trials.


	10. Chapter 10 The Warning

_Since I'm really striking out here, I'm gonna' dump 5 chapters instead of my usual 3. The story has been "finished" for some time, but some later chapters are in a rewrite due to a "lack of romance". If someone is actually reading this, I'd appreciate some feedback. A story unread is just a bunch of 1's and 0's on a hard drive somewhere._

 _I'll finally be getting to some action..._

10 The Warning

Yoseph, wake up, BANG. BANG, BANG. WAKE UP! Oh dear Lord, now what? This was the second time in a week. At first I didn't recognize the voices.

"Yes, what? OH, do come in, how did it..." It now occurred to me that they were completely out of breath.

Eirik had cut me off mid sentence.

"Yoseph, when we were at Aukubar, we heard the Duke had hired many mercenaries. they said they were coming here. while we did spring Hans, we never made it to Weselton."

"What happened, is everyone alright?"

"Yes,... but...ships, many ships. right behind us,...we had to...row". Ulf was gasping at this point.

"Who's ships?"

"They were flying Wesleton colors."

"How many?"

"Don't know, too dark, but they're all warships."

Well, if my epiphany hadn't scrubbed The Plan, this certainly drove the nails in it's coffin. It looks like the Duke has made some plans of his own. With money on his side he put together an armada, hired some goons, and cooked up an invasion of Arendelle on his own. Seeing that the Serenity was twice as fast as a Weselton Cutty in a reach, I figure we got two days before they're in the fjord.

I really didn't know how to proceed. The Plan was finished, and Elsa would get a reprieve from death, or would she? The Duke would be gunning for her. while that may sit well with some of Arendelles residents, this fight was coming to our doorsteps. The very thing in this whole plan I made up was seeking to avoid.

Here goes nothing, I'm going with the truth...This time.

"Gentlemen, The Plan is over. And I'm swearing my allegiance to the Queen." For a brief moment, stunned silence.

"WHAT? Your siding with that Monster? You must've been hanging around her too much!" Now here it comes.

"Princess Anna now possesses the powers of magical fire."

"Now there are two of them?!, my God, we're doomed!"

"This can't be happening, This can't be happening. Why doesn't the Devil just roar up from Hell and get it over with?" Asmund looked like he was ready to faint.

"Gentlemen, settle down! I'm beginning to see this for what it really is."

"And what's that, Yoseph?"

"These two women are the Hand of God." I'll skip what was said, as you may have already figured it out. "I haven't quite put my finger on it, But while I was spying on them just after Anna's awakening I was struck by some type of energy, I don't know what really happened, but I was profoundly changed after that, it must have been a sign from God."

"Did everyone else go lunnie while we were away, Yoseph?" Said Eirik. "What do we do now?"

"I'd say get some sleep, and come joint us with the final preps of the ship, there's a war coming."

And with that they got up from the table, but there's something else..."Where's Hans?"

"He didn't follow us, maybe he's still on the Serenity." Oh, no. Hans may be on the loose. I really just wanted to restrain him now, he could be a good bargaining chip. "Go home Gent's, and pray. Pray like you've never prayed before."

I went down to the dock and,...no Hans. Damn, what kind of trouble could he brew up?


	11. Chapter 11 Gunnery Trial

11 Gunnery Trial

My first bit of business today would be to tell the Queen what my men had seen on there way back from their "supply" run.

"My God, we are not ready for this." That much is certain, but with the overwhelming force of the Gudbrandr, I hoped that our Rag-Tag navy could pull it off. From a distance, it all seems so silly. Anna and Elsa in their warrior costumes and the fact that this boat in it's icy garb was so pretty. Absolutely limited practice time and not a single cannon on board, from a tiny Kingdom with no navy and no naval experience.

It had all the trappings of a suicide mission.

We had one day tops. So I ordered to crew to whip up some targets. We took several fishing dories and anchored them in a line down the fjord. We spaced then just like the ships of the line. On the masts we hung some old sails from the wrecked ships that still littered the fjord. We also managed to clear the harbor so the wakes wouldn't destroy anything.

I turned her around at the end of the fjord and lined us up.

"Ready crew?"

"Ready sir."

"Combat speed."

Once again we were churning up the water. I went the the port side of of the first boat, "Now Anna" and with that Anna set the first sail on fire. As I looked back I realized my first error. The wake from the ship rolled this and all the other dories over as we went past. "Don't worry, Elsa, just fire at them anyway, the spotters will know if you missed."

"A little earlier next time, Anna."

"Got it."

I wanted to make sure Anna was really cookin' when we were coming up to the enemy ships. The speed factor was really changing any battle tactics we were coming up with.

The bad news is we are completely out of time with the armada bearing down on us.

"Are you comfortable with our tactics, First?"

"Yes, Captain. I just wish we had more time". You and me both.

As we were weaving thru the boats I noticed a tendency for the ship to react a little too touchy when going from one direction to another. "Number one, can you make the hull a little deeper?, the steering's too touchy." More of Elsa's foot wiggle and the ice hull was another third meter deeper.

"Just a few more times, crew" even though our fleet was upside down, I felt the drill was important. I wanted this crew to know exactly want to do without me telling them. My orders would be more about timing, which was really important on this vessel, plus the fact it was louder than thunder. We made four total passes.

The only problem we had on this series was when Elsa had to fire in my general direction. 'bout lost my head. Sadly this design flaw would have to stay. We'd have to make the horns bigger to raise the Queen over my head. No time...

We put a staff with a bright flag on it behind me as a marker for the Queen to not fire forward of it, lest the Captain be dead.

When we got to shore the spotters were making there way back from the cliffs to give me the report. Anna was dead on every time and Elsa was about sixty percent. Good enough. While First Officer "Sparkles" felt disappointed in her score, I reminded her that in battle, most cannoneers had much less success, and that her slugs would do some major damage. The ability for her to make shaped projectiles made the rounds fly faster than a typical cannonball.

"First, when you fire your slugs try to put some spin on them. And for the love of God, can you make me a back rest?" I also had our eyeglass shop make me some specs, they were quite a welcome addition today.

Elsa was staying on board the ship over nite, as we found if she wasn't in contact with the deck at all times the ship began to melt. We lost several railings that way.

Anna would spend the rest of our time in port with Gran Pabbe, apparently they were brewin' up something new and wanted to get it right.

I spent the last bit of time in prayer, and to do one last walk around the ship. I stayed on board as well, and the ship was heavily guarded due to the fact that the Queen was on board. This was it, we sail at first light.


	12. Chapter 12 The Battle

12 The Battle

After some teary goodbyes from the wives of our crew, we set out. Anna and Elsa were dressed in their far east outfits with all kinds of sharp, dangley bits hanging from their hair and earlobes. Purple and green sashes with small daggers placed in ornate scabbards on their thighs. Hair in tight braids wrapped around their heads. Elsa had a special crown made just for this outfit. It looked like the spikes of the freeze all tightly packed together. The Queen was not hiding today.

They looked like they were ready to _**get some**_.

I didn't want to say anything too offensive, but these two simply looked like bad-asses. "Nice attire Ladies" is all they got from me verbally, but I was feeling a tingle.

Elsa also gave the ship a dark brown color to disguise our appearance, good call. When the ship sailed "Raw" it was slow, but with the ice hull, it picked up a couple of knots. This proved to be valuable in getting the timing of our arrival at the fleet just right.

We had only sailed half a day on the Gudbrandr when the call came from the nest. "Ships ahead Captain, at one ninty five."

"How many?"

"Not clear yet, Sir, maybe eight... No, ten Sir."

We need to flank them in order for our strategy to work, and the Wesleton Navy used a tactic of firing on the up roll, meaning they would fire when the ship rocked upwards on that side. The bad news for them is there wouldn't be any rigging for them to hit once we were in range.

"Are we lowering the sail soon, Captain?" Asked Elsa in a somewhat nervous tone. This wasn't like her at all, she was making me nervous now. This has never been attempted, it would soon make history. Either as a fools gambit or the most brilliant naval victory ever.

"We don't want to give away our advantage too soon, this ship looks like a scout ship to them. Let's let them think they have the upper hand."

Anna paced back and forth across the fore castle, she was speaking to herself a little litany that would psych herself out for battle. The Lieutenant "Feisty Pants" side of her was coming out. I remember hearing that bandied about when people who were close to her would speak of her anger. I always had trouble thinking of her that way, anger just wasn't her thing.

"Ten 32's Sir." Came the call, we now knew what we were up against on the sea, the next query was even more important. "Do you see any troops?"

"Yes Sir, on two vessels."

Damn! Land invasion. I knew it wouldn't be a coincidence that the Duke would hire some goons, and not be on these ships. They would lock up the fjord with eight ships and perform a land attack with the other two.

I hoped that most of what we've done over the last few months has stayed a secret, but I'm not counting on it. They planned on bringing the fight straight to Arendelle and they were going to use typical military strategy to do it. We made the turn to line up for our attack run, this was it.

"May Fortune Favor the Foolish" I said to my First. I hoped it wouln't be the last thing I'd say.

"Fold the mast!" The crew released the jib and mast stays and Elsas snow muscles did the rest, lowering it into its cradle. "Seal it." Now Elsa encapsulated the sails, mast and booms in an icy sheath and blew off the camouflage coating revealing the cool blue color of ship, it looked like giant icicle now.

I couldn't help but wonder what our enemy was seeing, for all I know they could be laughing their faces off by now.

"Thrusters Now!" As they roared to life the ship heaved up as Elsas latest hull shape proved to be a winner. "Combat Speed!" As I barked out these orders it occurred to me that no other Captain had ever issued such orders in battle, or spoke to his Queen in such a fashion. On this ship however I was in charge, the Queen was second in command. She made it very clear that was how it was going to be. Smart people know how to delegate authority, and now it looks like she is the smartest person to have ever lived.

"Ready Lieutenant Anna?"

"Born Ready, Sir!"

"When we are in range, light 'em up!" I was really letting Anna know I had confidence in her abilities more than telling her what to do. We had discussed this battle plan in Elsa's study many times. But a Captain must have the appearance of being in control, most of what I would say to her would be for show now. It also occurred to me that that we were being rather flippant about name usage that seemed quite undisciplined. But if they got the job done, and followed my orders, that should be good enough.

Besides, the Queens last name had six syllables, it was a real mouthful.

The enemy ships made there turn for firing on the line right on cue, just like all their dusty war books told them to do. It would be a costly mistake...

At full speed now, the Gudbrandr must have been a terrifying sight. Two giant wakes, the likes of which had never been seen before came off the bow, the noise was deafening.

"Now Lieutenant!" Up on the bow sprint, Anna unleashed her first wave of fire as we came up to the port side of the bow on the first ship. The sails exploded in flames as the first volley of cannon fire came from the ship.

Against a vessel of this speed their cannons were useless, and we tried to stay out of range of any musket fire. Their weapons were of no match for us. this should be a decisive victory if everything will just hold together.

"Rearward fire!" Now it was Elsas turn to go on the offense. She shot several icy slugs at the stern of the first ship in an attempt to knock out its rudder. A miss, but it was close. "Your doing fine Elsa", I wanted to be encouraging, Anna and Elsa weren't really seasoned marines.

Now we zigged to the starboard side of the next ship, once again Anna seared the sails and a few sailors in the rigging of the second ship. I caught a quick glimpse of the first ship behind us, It was fully engulfed in flames, men jumping into the sea. The wake of the Gudbrandr made it rock violently. We kept this up for five ships. Anna had what looked to be the easy job, as she didn't need quite the aim Elsa needed. But Elsa got three out of the five, and I congratulated her on her success.


	13. Chapter 13 The Battle pt 2

13 Battle 2

After destroying the first five ships it was time to fall back, assess the damage and give our magicians a well deserved break. I don't think either of the two had expelled energy at this level before and I didn't want to completely exhaust them, this wasn't a suicide mission,...yet.

While our ability to attack at high speeds was a great strategical advantage, the ability to fall back at high speed was very comforting, and would mystify the commanders of the enemy. None of the tactics we used today have ever been seen before. A ship of this speed has never been seen before. Every book on naval strategy must now be tossed out, and the captains of the remaining ships must now think on the fly.

When in the fray, most of the men are concentrating on their duties and trying to stay alive. With the ease of our ability to fall back, I had the luxury to let my thoughts turn to the significance of this battle. There would be songs sung about it, children would be gathered around evening fires listening to the story of the Great Battle for Arendelle. How two brave women warriors destroyed every enemy ship and brought victory to Arendelle against all odds. undoubtably a lot of hyperbole would be thrown in to make the story more interesting over the course of time...

Ok, deep breath and it's time to come back to reality.

Some of Anna's and Elsa's focus training had rubbed off a bit over the course of time and I for one am glad it did. This wasn't going to get easier. Any good commander is going to save his best for last, and today would prove to be no exception.

The fleet had wisely broken up, trying an encircling maneuver. Huh, still using the old playbook, eh? They would put their best cannon men on the inside of the circle. with our high speed we would just go for the outside. But I didn't want them to think that at first.

So I gave the command to make a run at their lead ship at an angle we used on their first ship. As they prepared to fire we broke off and went around them. I had instructed Anna not to fire on the lead ship, I didn't want to pick a fight with them while four other ships could bear down on us. Anna gave them a big wave of her arm as we went by, like she was in a parade. Elsa was really full on warrior this time as we were at the backsides of the other vessels.

One volley of slugs ripped the stern right off and she sunk within a minute, with sailors scrambling to get launches in the water. Anna was doing cleanup duty on this attack run. If Elsa missed she would lite them up enough to keep them busy with the fire. Another four ships slipped below the waves, men and debris everywhere. It was time to take on the lead vessel.

I once again backed off, Elsa asked for this and I obliged. I think she was hoping they would turn around and go back home. I could tell both Anna and her were upset with the loss of life, but frankly, it had been minimal. Even with the destruction of nearly all their vessels, the lack of cannon fire and Elsa's well placed shots allowed most of their men to escape into the water. With this last ship they could scoop up their remaining men and head for the safety of home, but that was not their commanders plan.


	14. Chapter 14 Battle Finale

14 Battle Finale

"Raise the spotters bridge!" Elsa stomped her foot on the main deck and a spiral staircase flowed out of the deck ten meters high. The railings were augmented in beautiful snowflakes and geometrical patterns that twinkled brightly in the diminishing sunlight. "First Officer, now is not the time for frivolity." I scolded. She just gave me a wry smile, shrugged her shoulders, and gave a small flick of her hand that sent a rainbow hue of colors to the snowflakes. It appeared to me she was sending a message to our enemy that... she was still a woman,

she still has a sense of her own style no matter how misplaced,

and that she was absolutely crushing them.

The message I got was, I'm still the Queen, Captain.

Well, message received. It is her ship after all.

"I've spotted the Duke, Sir!"

The Duke, ugh. That weasel just came along to gloat presumably, and now found himself in a bit of a jamb.

"He seems to be having a heated discussion with the Captain."

Ah, conflict. I'm sure the Duke was pressing him to attack. His pride had been severely damaged by the Queen when she told him they would no longer be doing business together. I wonder if he has an ace up has sleeve...

"Lower the bridge." Instead of it just going back into the deck, it dematerialized from the bottom up, and popped like a firecracker when the last of it was at the top. If nothing else she was consistent.

"Prepare to attack...Now!, Combat speed!"

It was head to head, a game of high stakes chicken. But why were they doing this? there was no way for them to bring their cannons to bear this way, they're too slow to ram why would...

"Hard to port!" Cried Hjalmar, but it was too late. Two large doors covering a set of gun ports fell into the sea, showing his ace. Two nine barrel cannons fired as soon as the doors cleared the ports and eighteen cannonballs in a spread pattern were headed our way.

It only took one to make its mark. at first it bounced off the deck of the fore castle, then into the pilots wheel. I had managed to take a step back before the wheel exploded, Elsa was not so lucky.

A large shard of the wheels housing struck Elsa across the left shoulder. Being somewhat locked into the thruster tubes, she stayed at her post. But now she had fallen over and was bleeding profusely.

We had been ratted out, and we were dead in the water. The slight bit of good news is that their super weapon was a one-shot affair and it would take a few minutes to either reload or bring their normal complement of cannon to bear.

"Elsa, can you hear me?! We need a storm now! ELSA!"

"Elsa!, NO! her sister was now running from the bow sprint to here. Normally I'd be saying something to the effect of stay at your post, but now this was her post. "Elsa, PLEASE!" "Huh? wha?" Elsa was delirious.

"First, if you don't create a storm right now, we are all going to die."

She managed to create a howler like the one on the day of her jailbreak. This would buy us some time. Once the swirls of wind and snow started the sails on the Weselton ship cracked like thunder, and the ship started to push away.

"Keep this up for as long as you can, Number One."

This is where I wish Anna had more powers than just destruction.

Wait a second, she does have a helpful power. Now if it will just work. "Anna, I need you to cauterize Elsa's wound."

"Wait, WHAT?! I've never done anything like that before!"

"Anna, today has been filled with firsts, no reason to stop now. If you can't help your sister, all of us are going to die. As well as citizens of Arendelle."

I hated putting that kind of pressure on her, but that's what captains do. I needed her to give one hundred and twenty percent right now.

"Rune, Torkel, give us a hand. Hold her down, she must be held still."

"OK, Anna,...this is your moment."

She put her hand over the wound and looked back at me while tears were streaming down her face.

"Hold the wound closed while applying heat, and it has to be hot enough to burn."

Between the screaming and the smell of burning flesh, we nearly lost our helpers. Seeing the Queen this way was stomach churning.

To think that a month ago, I would have been reveling in my delight to see her writhing in pain, while I kicked her over the side. Now I can hardly bear the thought of her suffering.

The pain brought Elsa around but she was very weak, when Anna lifted her hand up, an impression of her fingers was left indelibly into her shoulder.

It worked. Anna had concentrated the heat right along the wound, sealing it without further damage. I was very proud of her at that moment, but it was short lived. We still had the issue of a warship that was going to be on top of us soon.

Elsa's head cleared a bit and the sisters could embrace once again. Not a dry eye on board. But I had to think, and I would have to come up with a stunner.

"Elsa, can you cover us? I want to make us like an iceberg."

"I'll try."

This time, instead of being in the eye of the storm, it was on top of us. The ship was sinking down with the weight of the snow and ice on top of us. "That's enough" and we were in an igloo of sorts.

"Now Anna, melt us a hole big enough for Hjalmar to fit thru to the top." Anna had been working on a technique known as the "Lite Drill". It was a shaft of very intense fire that came from her hand in a very narrow beam.

Gran Pabbe had been instructing her on the technique just before we had to rush off, now we needed it and I hoped she wouldn't set us or the ship on fire. She held her hand against the dome, swung it in a circle and cut the opening. The plug fell to the deck with a thud. Elsa had seen what we were up to and made a small ladder for Hjalmar to climb. He started for the opening and I grabbed him by the shoulder. "Wait. Geirr, get me an empty flour bag from the hold. He showed up with the white bag. I quickly cut two holes in it and shoved it over Hjalmar's head. "Now go take a look." Both women let out a quick snort.

"Their coming, Sir. About twelve minutes out."

Now for the coup d'état.

"Anna, when I give your the signal, I want you to use the lite drill in a zig-zag pattern like this." I gestured with my own hand at the snow wall. I wish it would've been me who would be doing this, as it was sure to send many to their death. Anna had enough for several lifetimes today.

"There lobbing a few rounds at...pfft, pfft ppfft." But the cannonballs where just sinking into the snow, along with Jaly getting a mouthful. They would have to try and board us. "Jaly, tell us which side?"

"Port Sir, towards the stern."

Perfect. "Come down Jaly. Be very quiet, everyone." What seemed like forever passed.

We could hear the snow creak under their foot steps as I got Anna in place. "Rune, you ready?"

"Yes Sir."

When the first soldier poked his head down thru the hole, Rune plunged his sword straight up through him. NOW ANNA!, give it everything you have!" The lite and noise was very intense.

Sounds of boiling water, splintering and burning wood. The quick succession of pop noises as bags of powder sitting next to their cannons went off.

Men screaming. "You must not stop, Anna". I kept pushing her, how much more could she possibly stand?

As she was cutting thru the ship, she was also cutting the snow dome, which now exposed the horrific damage it has caused. The ship had fallen apart, cut into several large chunks. She had managed to nick the powder magazine, making an ear ringing and somewhat delayed explosion.

Three skiffs survived, filled to the brim with men. They were giving up, their little boats making for shore.

It was over.

"First Officer, raise the mast and strip the ship." With that all the magical parts of the ship were gone. We would be going home in our ugly shoe box. But we would be going home.


	15. Chapter 15 Battle Epilogue

_**A/N, Hello Fans! If you've make it this far I wish to thank you. But due to a lack of reviews and generally poor readership, this will be the last 5 chapters. The story will end where I originally conceived with Confession. Four pages deep and every story has reviews except mine, so either I've done something horribly wrong, or I just suck as a writer. I'm guessing the latter. The second and final act is under going a rewrite based on actual criticism I received, and she was right, it's now looking much better.**_

 _ **"Into the Flames" (working title) could show up within a month, so for my 2 followers, I wouln't leave you hanging. I will finish this last act.**_

Elsa had collapsed from exhaustion and we got her down below for a well deserved rest. She wanted to rescue survivors.

"No, Number One, my first duty is to get you home safe."

I got Geirr to install the emergency tiller. A feature I incorporated when we ditched Elsas steering, I'm glad we didn't waste time waiting for those parts, ten ships would now be parked in our fjord.

"Anna, can you help me with the tiller for a bit?"

"I should really go to..."

"It's not a request, Lieutenant."

She knew what that meant."Yes Sir." Then she trudged over to the other side of the tiller and gingerly put her hand on it.

"Can you at least act like you want to be here?" I said somewhat sarcastically.

"Seriously, we need to talk". She perked up a bit after that. She figured out that I wasn't just trying to order her around.

"My Lady, I have a confession to make, I spied on you. When you were sitting on the dock in those days just after the fire, throwing those rocks into the water.

"Yea, it was if I was throwing my life away, I guess it was just symbolic... or something." She kinda' trailed off at the end. There was this overwhelming sadness in her voice. This might be related to Kristoff, but it was not my place to go there. I'm not a counselor.

It took me a minute to formulate what I would say next, but how she responded could change the world forever.

"I had the strangest sensation when I saw your sister hug you." I never used the word "hug" before. Although it felt right with Anna. She was so much more personable that Elsa. When you looked her straight in the eye it was mesmerizing. There _was_ magic in them, frankly it was disturbing. I didn't want to have romantic feelings with her, she's married. It's no wonder she attracted men so quickly, it's not as if they have a choice. If you looked her in the eyes, your in love with her, The End.

How Hans escaped this, I don't know.

"Ah, the Halo Wave, yep, that has a strange effect on people."

"Alright then, now you lost me."

"Oh, sorry. The Halo wave comes when our Halos touch each other."

"Our Halos?"

"Yes, pay attention. When the Halo particles touch each other a physical wave of love energy is given off,... Gran Pabbe told me."

OK, that's it. If this is not a sign from God I don't know what is.

"What Halos?! That is supposed the sign of an angel! I've never seen one, and the only time I should be seeing one is when I'm dead!" She gave me the blankest stare.

"Oh, do you want to see mine?" She held up her hands to the side of her head and did a small version of her colored fire.

There it was, in all it's glory. I waited a lifetime for proof of Gods existence and here it was, standing right in front of me.

It looked like someone had blown a smoke ring and placed it over her head. It had this swirling motion that just kept on going, it was the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen. This was the divine on Earth, I couldn't keep the tears back, so I shooed her off before they showed.

"You are dismissed, lieutenant." She left staring back at me as if she could sense my feelings. I called down below for relief, and spent the last waking hours in fervent prayer.

Angels, Angels have awakened. Right here in Arendelle. I was serving one. I was just in battle with two of them.

I plotted to kill one. "What kind of punishment can you bestow on me now Lord?!" An eternity in Hell would be too merciful now. "I swear allegiance to You and Your angels Lord, how can I serve You?!"

I didn't know whether to curse God, or thank Him. When someone said the Lord works in mysterious ways, that would get my vote for understatement of the millennium. Many people have toiled their whole lives away in search of the meaning of life and why God does what He does, and these events get tossed across my threshold.

I had wanted to kill the Hand of God, and for now I'm fourth in succession to the stewardship of Arendelle. How is this even possible?

I was just a simple shop keep. It seems so long ago now.


	16. Chapter 16 Triumphant

We got into port at first lite. Many of the townsfolk were gathered along the railings around the docks and let out a cheer.

"How many ships?" Came from the curious crowd.

"Ten 32's, all below the waves" called out Hjalmar, the pride clearly in his voice. There was a moment of silence as it sunk in. This was the greatest victory in naval history. It would be spoken of for generations. Then they erupted.

In all the noise other villagers were coming out of their houses. Everyone in town knew what we were doing, not everyone believed we'd come thru alive.

When the Queen came out on a stretcher a loud collective gasp came from the crowd. "Is she alright?"

"My God, our Queen."

"Will she be OK?", could be heard murmuring in the crowd.

When she started to pass me she gestured the carriers to stop. "Please repeat this for me." She said to me, too weak to speak up. "I want all able bodied men to sail south and pick up any survivors." I obliged. The crowd started to form up into a pathway for the Queen as she was carried into the castle.

The Princess was the last to leave the ship. As she got to the end of the ramp she said, "Permission to disembark, Captain?"

"Permission granted, Lieutenant." It would be the last time we addressed each other that way.

Again the crowd had let out a cheer, and Anna shot a large fireball into the sky. She practically ran to the castle while dancing around, reveling in our victory. She deserved this moment.

"My Lady, the last time Queen Elsa had the victory party, now it's your turn."

That nite Anna stepped out onto the castles balcony and put on a show. Lites danced across the sky in all colors. The cannons that were not used on the Gudbrandr were fired in sequence to Anna's lite show, while the royal band played. Fireworks were set off all over town. Arendelle was lit up. The taverns were full.

Anna had hoped that all the commotion would bring Kristoff back into town, but he was nowhere to be found. The next morning Anna was gearing up to go look for him. I had stayed at the castle that nite out of respect for the Queen, in this state I really didn't want to leave her side.

Just as Anna got on her horse, several rocks rolled into town.

Trolls. Trolls never came into town, never. The site of them scared several townsfolk, but with Elsa around, they were no where near as scary anymore. They rolled right up to Kjekk and unfolded. Bulda walked up to Anna and said...

"Your Highness, Kristoff is dead."


	17. Chapter 17 Hans

Anna's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she swayed a bit before falling off her horse. It's a good thing Kai had just helped her up as he was close enough to catch Anna somewhat awkwardly. So he shifted her around a bit and carried her back inside the castle.

It had just dawned on me that I was now in charge of Arendelle, a responsibility that I was ill prepared for. I was hoping the Queen would be up and around soon, as I didn't want it to look like this was some of coup.

But that's how it looked now.

I questioned the Trolls about Kristoffs demise and my worst fears came true. Kristoff had been found slumped against a tree on the path from the Valley of the Living Rock to here, a large knife wound across his throat. There were no signs of a struggle, so he must've been ambushed from behind.

"We found this, Yoseph." They showed me the bloody knife, the attacker must've wanted everyone to know who did it. I flipped the blade over in my hand and there it was. The Royal Crest of the Westergaards.

Damn! That treacherous murderer Hans, He had been planning this the whole way here, I'd bet. And I helped him. The minute he jumped off the Serenity I should have chased him down.

That was hindsight, and it's always very clear. But why Kristoff? What did he have to gain by his murder? Did he just want to hurt Anna? Did he think the punishment would be less severe than killing her? I mean, she did punch him in the face. Did it hurt his pride that much? Anna is the one who showed him mercy. The Queen wanted to try him in court, with a sentence that usually results in death. Anna just wanted to send him home.

Once again strange forces were at work here. Is this the work of God? Did he want this to happen? His Angel Incarnate had passed out from the emotional pain, did God really want Anna to suffer like this? Hasn't she suffered enough?

When Anna finally got up, she brushed herself off, and went straight to the cottage. She spoke to no one. I wasn't brave enough to go down there and the one person who could've helped was lying in her bed.

Kai wanted to break the news to the Queen, but I said no. It was my duty to do so.

"What is it, Yoseph, can't you see I'm resting." Her tone was very dark, even for Elsa. She wanted to revel with the rest of Arendelle last nite, it must've pained her to not be able to do so.

"Please forgive me your Majesty, this news cannot wait."

"What news?, what could possibly be wrong now that needs my attention?"

She probably thought it would be some maritime problem, she didn't see this coming. I've never felt so ill.

"You Highness, Kristoff is dead." It took a second for Elsa to fill her lungs. "DEAD?! Dead how?"

"He was murdered, your Majesty."

"Do you know who did this?"

"Yes, your Majesty, it was Hans Westergaard." Her face got whiter, a difficult thing to picture.

"No...NO, NOOOOOOO!Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn!"

She wanted to pound the bed with her fists, but could not summon the strength. The air temperature dropped quickly, frost started to cover the windows.

"I should have strung that bastard up! How did this happen?, how did he get here?!"

OK, keep in mind a couple of things.

The Queen never swore.

I brought him here.

No one, and I mean no one has ever seen the Queen at this level of anger.

I'm dead.

And now I have to lie. If I don't lie, I'll be swinging right alongside Hans, if of course we catch him. I really wanted to tell Elsa the truth, and maybe someday I will. However, now is not the time.

"We do not know his whereabouts, nor do we know how he got here."

"Find him,... find him and bring him before me." Her jaw never moved, she clenched it so tight.

"But you Maje..." "FIND HIM, everyone,...OUT!"

Well, that could've gone better. We really need to get Anna to Elsa's chamber as soon as possible. But it would have to wait. Reports were coming in that the cottage was the scene of some disturbances. Such as the sound of breaking glass and furniture, along with flashing lights out the windows. It would have to be tomorrow. But that turned out to be yet another mistake.


	18. Chapter 18 Gone

I ask Kai if in the morrow he could follow me down to the cottage and see Anna. He was more than happy to as I had never really asked him to do anything. I hoped he would help, there was a mild friction between us. I had kinda' gone around him in the Arendelle hierarchy. But we had different jobs to perform, both were equally important.

I think he was a bit jealous of my position considering how long he had been in service of the King and Queen.

He was greatly saddened by their passing. He also held this Kingdom together by a thread in their absence.

The reason I asked him is Anna might not go off the deep end seeing an old friend. But as we got close the little boat was not there.

She was gone.

She must've provisioned her in the middle of the nite and rowed out, as there was no wind around the fjord last nite.

"Oh, no" said Kai. He was right, oh no indeed, but I would have said something different. Ugh. "Let's have a look around inside shall we?"

When we opened the door it looked like the place had been robbed.

There wasn't anything inside that wasn't broken, shoved around, or unsinged. But there were a few notable items missing. Warm weather clothes, food jars, and the fishing pole that Elsa gave to her on her birthday. I remember seeing them frolic about that day, Elsa gravely ill, but trying to put on her best front.

It didn't have the appearance of a suicide run, but we couldn't rule this out. "Well, I guess it's time the give the Queen more good news."

"Very funny Yoseph."

But we both knew how bad this really was. "I think we should wait a few days before telling the Queen, she needs to recover some before we deliver another crushing blow."

"Agreed." But I was at the fringe on this one. With every passing moment, the Princess was getting further away. In my gut, however, something was telling me she was OK. That this was something she really needed to do. This woman was an angel with the power to cut ships to pieces. After all, what could happen?

On the way back to the castle my mind sorta' summed up the last few months, and with what I knew of Anna. I remember coronation day and how the whole town was so excited to finally see the two princesses who had been locked away for so long.

And seeing Anna, how she danced and twirled about, swinging from lampposts and walking the bridge railings. Flitting around all the carts with things for sale down in the bazaar and smelling the flowers. She was such a mesmerizing image, darting about like a humming bird, like someone who was seeing the world for the first time in forever.

Gone.

The Warrior, who looked so innocent, but fought so bravely in the face of such great danger.

Gone.

The Healer, who had saved her sisters life,... again.

Gone.

And what of the Queen?, she is severely weakened right now. Her magical abilities may be affected again by her absence. Could this be the end?, or is this once again Gods plan. He surely is trying us right now.

Another thing started to trouble me was why was the Queen so upset about the death of Kristoff? She really didn't care for him all that much. Was she more concerned with Anna's feelings and how she'd react?

Did she know she'd run away? After the Queen ran off, you'd think that Anna would've considered running away a bad idea.


	19. Chapter 19 Confession

A few days had passed and it was time to face the music. Not only do I have to tell the Queen her sister has sailed away in a rickety boat, I also decided that it was time to inform the Queen about The Plan and the fact I brought Hans here. I couldn't live with this deception any longer, and I would rather her strike me dead than live with this guilt.

"So you needed to see me, Yoseph?, what's on your mind?" Oh the pain, it was so intense.

"Your Highness, I have come before you to make a confession, and to inform you that Princess Anna has fled the Kingdom."

The Queen started to loose her balance and had to sit down. It's a good thing, as what I was about to confess may make her fall over, or kill me on the spot.

"Your Highness, I was instrumental in a plot to kill you, and I was the one who brought Hans Westergaard here. I have had spies in the castle, and I also spied on you when Anna was at the dock, throwing stones into the water."

"I knew of your plans all along, Yoseph, don't you think I have spies of my own? Tetoo, come here please." She held out her hand and and what looked like fly landed in it. She literally had the "fly on the wall" for a spy. "Thank you, Tetoo." She gave the tiny creature a small pet with her finger, and with that the creature flew out the window.

"I found out about Ingulfs meeting the same time you did."

Damn, that woman is smart. If she knew about The Plan then why didn't she do something about Hans? ...Of course!, the bug I killed on board the Serenity. It must've been one of those spy creatures. There was no way for it to report back that Hans was coming.

A man is now dead from the mere swatting of a fly. I never got over this.

"The monarchy is always threatened Yoseph, we train to recognize this type of danger all the time. We learn to keep our friends close and our enemies closer. Unfortunately for Anna she was not as astute at these matters as I was. While working with you all these months I hoped you would have a change of heart."

"Your Highness, you put yourself in great danger by allowing The Plan to get as far as..."

" Yes, Yoseph." She abruptly cut me off.

"The first step in avoiding a trap, is knowing of it's existence. I was one step ahead of you all the time, I was in no danger."

But it's impossible to know everything, and she let me in on her one failing. "But I did not know what Hans had planned, he was very cunning, and what happened to Kristoff is unfortunate."

Unfortunate?! Anna's husband is dead. It's as if shes been ground under a pestle. I wouldn't have used the word unfortunate here. I knew the Queen didn't like Kristoff much, but wow, that seemed cold, even for Elsa. She went on, and obviously she felt some regret.

"Anna is young, and she will find love again. Love seems to be one thing that Anna shines at,... it saved me."

Anything that came out of Elsa's mouth could be considered gospel. She knew she was OK, would be found and brought home, but who would she find for such a dangerous mission? This was something that the Queen would've liked to handle herself, and with her at the thrusters of the Gudbrandr, could have caught up to her in no time. But the Queen had a kingdom to run, and her first priority was Arendelle.

"I want you to go and find her."

There it was, that was my punishment. To be sent on a suicide mission which could take years to finish. "...and I want you to be as discrete as possible." I really didn't want to bring this up in light of the fact that I avoided swinging from the gallows pole...

"But your Highness, we have no idea which way she headed."

"I know which way she went. As a child she met a girl named Rani from an island paradise who gave her a book about her country that she read over and over out of boredom. That island's name is Lazarote, and it's straight south of here, about a three weeks journey. Kai can provide you with the coordinates."

The Queens sense of intuition was frankly disturbing. Once we had talked about the disappearance of her parents and how ill she felt just before they left. She knew that their terrible fate had been sealed, but she did not understand the feeling at the time. Being intuitive is a tremendous burden and takes time to learn how to use that feeling to guide you.

"I must take my leave of you, Yoseph, good luck."

"Thank you for your mercy, your Highness." And with that I bowed and walked out her study door, probably for the last time.

Well, I guess I got what I deserved on this one. I practically plunged the blade into Kristoff's neck myself and now I'm running off to catch a very distraught princess who may set the world on fire, no pressure there.

So I went home and said goodbye to the boys, then told them to please try not to run my business into the ground. We provisioned the Serenity and then I set sail South...

Alone.

 _The End_

 _Hey, if you've gotten this far, good news! The story continues in "Nine Degrees East" I may also revamp this story as it has been redone for print into a hard copy. (NFS)_


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